


Venom

by RomanoCheesy



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Janus deserves better, Lemme know if I missed something, Unsympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Unsympathetic Morality | Patton Sanders, fangs, someone help this child, venom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:01:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25780240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomanoCheesy/pseuds/RomanoCheesy
Summary: Janus has venom, various chaos ensues.
Relationships: Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	Venom

Janus had become more accepted among the sides in the past few months, that much was true. However, there was one little thing that thankfully only one other had noticed that may make him seem less trustworthy; his fangs. He had a pair of taipan-like fangs set where his lateral incisors should have been, and they were venomous. If Remus knew, he would undoubtedly have a field day trying to see the full extent of his capabilities. Now, the one other person who noticed his incisors should have been the most relaxed about it. Roman would see him as a villain because only an evil person would have fangs, Logan wouldn't stop pestering him with questions about them, Virgil already disliked him and Remus was, well, Remus. So this left one other side as a possibility to notice, and that side was the one talking to him about it right at this moment. Patton. He maintained his cool composure as the fatherly side spoke. 

"And you know, Jan, this really isn't supposed to make you feel bad but how can we trust someone with that kind of dangerous venom?" Patton asked. 

"Of course I understand. You know best, after all." he replied, his voice smooth. Patton smiled that smile of his. 

"Thanks, I knew you would. Welp, take care!" he said, skipping off to who-knows-where. The deceitful side strode off to his room, the corridor was cold and he needed his sweater. He stepped into his room, the soft shifting greeting him like a hug. He picked the yellow garment up off his bed and slipped it on, grateful for it, and took a seat on the mattress. The book he had been reading was still sitting there, and he gladly picked it up and opened it to the bookmark. Agatha Christie really was a fine author, Logan had been right as always. He began humming a tune from Moulin Rouge as he read, he was fond of classic musicals. He continued to hum and read until quite late into the night. 

Janus awoke that morning to discover he had fallen asleep reading, and looked at the page with disappointment. It had crinkled. He attempted to smooth the page with his hand as best he could, before slipping the bookmark back in and closing the book. He placed it on his nightstand and checked the time. It was a bit early, but he was hungry so he headed off in the direction of the kitchen. As he drew near he could smell sweet coffee, meaning Virgil must be up. He straightened his shoulders and strode into the kitchen, and sure enough, Virgil was sitting on the counter drinking his coffee. The snake grabbed some bread and leftover corned beef to make himself a sandwich, and quickly whipped up his breakfast. He took a bit out of the sandwich when he heard the anxious side's deep voice speak up from the counter. 

"Woulda thought you'd be hunting for your breakfast, not feeling up to catching a rat today?" he teased. Janus put his sandwich down for a moment, confused. 

"When have I ever eaten live prey?" he asked. 

"Well what else would you have venom for?" Virgil stated, taking another sip of his drink. 

"How do you know about that?" he asked. He wasn't sure if it was just the emo's influence or he was genuinely unsettled by this newfound knowledge. 

"You can't hide that sort of secret forever. Trust me. Oh and also Pat told me." he shrugged. Janus took another bite of his sandwich, chewed it up as he thought and swallowed hard. 

"How many of the others has he told?" he asked. Virgil shrugged. 

"Dunno." he stated. Janus simply nodded and picked up his plate. He needed some time in his room. He continued eating his breakfast as he walked, and once he arrived back in his room, he was finished with the meal. He placed the dirty dish on his desk and flopped onto his bed. As he shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, he heard a sharp knock on his door, one of the logical side. 

"Come in." the snake said, pulling himself into a slightly more presentable position. The door slid open with a slight creak, he would need to fix that at some point. Logan stood in the doorway, his glasses neatly folded and hanging from his pocket. 

"Salutations, Janus. I do not intend to be... overbearing in any way, but I have a question or two relating to something Patton told me last night." he said, albeit rather awkwardly. Janus sighed. 

"This is about the fangs, isn't it?" he asked tiredly. The teacher's eyes lit up. 

"Affirmative. May I see them?" he asked. Janus nodded and opened his mouth, showing off his pointed incisors. Logan walked over to get a closer look, an expression of fascination on his face. He reached out a finger to touch the tips before thinking better of it. "What sort of effect does your venom have?" he asked, putting his glasses on and opening his notebook. Janus didn't know how to word the effect in a way that made sense, his venom was a perfect tool for interrogation. It did not force the victim to tell the truth, nor did it cause physical marks save for the punctures, but he supposed that was the work of the fangs rather than the venom itself. What the venom did do, however, was cause a pain so intense it could cause Roman to almost pass out. Logan was still standing in front of him expectantly. 

"I suppose it causes pain." the snake replied. The logical side wrote this down in his notebook, and closed it. 

"I will ask more at a later time. I will see you later." he stated, walking out of the room. As the door closed, Janus flopped back onto his bed and slowly fell asleep. 

Janus awoke to a familiar moustached face looming just above him. He groggily blinked the sleep out of his eyes. 

"Hiya, Janjan!" Remus said with a large grin, moving his face away so the snake could sit up. 

"What time is it?" he asked with a yawn. 

"Three in the morning." the pungent side stated, reaching a hand out and grabbing Janus' jaw. Remus had never been one to respect personal space, but that did not excuse what he did next. He pulled the side's mouth open wider than comfortable, even for Janus, and almost bounced in excitement. 

"So you do have fangs! Why'd you never tell me?" he asked excitedly. The snake pulled his head away and lay back down. 

"Take a wild guess." he sighed tiredly. Remus tilted his head in confusion, before his eyes lit up. 

"Oh that's right, you talk in lies most of the time! That's it, isn't it?" he asked. The snake could have facepalmed. 

"Believe it or not, I am capable of telling truths. I prefer some things to remain private." he said, letting his eyes drift shut. 

"Oh." the duke said. "Can I have some?" 

"Some of what?" he asked with another yawn. 

"Your venom!" Remus stated. Before Janus could answer, he had been grabbed firmly by the hair and pulled up into a sitting position. He was about to protest when he was cut off by his fangs being pressed inside a cup, most likely glass, judging by the sound. It was an extremely uncomfortable sensation and by the time he was released, his venom glands were incredibly sore. He dared open his eyes and sure enough, the glass was half-full of the cloudy liquid. 

"Thanks, Jan!" the duke said with a huge grin, bounding out the door with glass in hand. The snake lay back down as he attempted to ignore the ache and come to terms with the events that had just unfolded. He slowly drifted back into a fitful sleep. 

Janus woke again at a slightly more reasonable time, this time with no one there to wake him up, for which he was most thankful. He pulled himself out of bed and his stomach rumbled. The last time he had eaten was yesterday's breakfast, and he wasn't about to miss another meal. He changed into an outfit slightly more appropriate for being around the others as he did have an image to maintain, after all. This time however, he wore a beanie and a pair of finger-less gloves instead of his usual bowler hat and opera gloves. Summoning his confident aura, he opened the door and headed out to the kitchen. He noticed Roman was in the kitchen, however the prince seemed a bit odd. He looked up from his breakfast with an expression of malice. 

"Tell me what you did to me, villain." he managed to wheeze out. 

"I haven't a clue what you're talking about." the snake said calmly. It was then he noticed the small puncture mark on the prince's neck and all made sense. 

"Of course you do, you're the one with the venom! What does this stuff do? Am I going to die?" he rambled, his composure slipping quickly. The snake slipped off his glove, a visual cue Roman usually understood to mean he wasn't lying. 

"You will not die, Roman. However, it will hurt for a few hours." he stated. Roman did not seem to believe him. 

"Why should I believe you?" he asked, his breathing quick. Janus had to admit, the prince was surprisingly good at concealing pain. 

"Because I have two fangs and you have one puncture wound." he replied. Roman's expression changed multiple times in the span of a few seconds before he summoned a hand-held mirror. He used this to take a look and sure enough, the snake was telling the truth this time. He turned to face him once more. 

"So maybe you didn't bite me. What does that prove? You might have put some venom in a syringe or something." he said. Janus raised a sceptical eyebrow. 

"I do hope you understand how uncomfortable that process would be." he said, taking his corned beef out of the fridge. Before Roman could respond, Patton bounded into the kitchen. 

"Morning, kiddo!" he beamed. "Janus." he said, slightly less enthusiastically once he caught sight of the reptilian side. Janus closed the fridge with his container in hand. 

"Good morning, Patton." he stated, matching the father figure's tone. The side in question headed toward Roman. 

"You OK, Ro? My father senses are tingling, need a hug?" he asked with a smile. Roman shook his head slowly. 

"Not now, padre. Everything feels like I'm being stabbed with a bajillion swords." he said, his voice softer. Janus pulled the lid off his container and leaned against the counter to eat his beef while he watched this unfold. Stepping in would be unwise, leaving would be even more so. 

"Aw, that's not good! D'ya know why?" Patton asked with a head tilt. That was when the dam broke and the royal side began bawling. The father figure pulled him into a warm dad-hug. 

"Hey now, it's gonna be alright. It's alright, alright?" he said softly to console the prince. Being almost a head shorter than Roman, he was just tall enough to get an eyeful of the reason his kiddo was in distress. The puncture. He gave Janus a quick look that clearly stated, I will have a word with you later. The snake pretended not to notice as he bit into his beef. He winced at the sudden hit of pain his fangs gave him, but the beef was in his mouth now and he swallowed the piece. He attempted to eat with his back teeth, but it was incredibly awkward. So he used his hands to tear the pieces off and swallowed them whole. 

"Now why don't you go to your room and I'll be there in a bit with some soup for you, k?" the father figure said to the prince, gently pulling away from the hug. Roman sniffed and nodded, shuffling out of the kitchen. Patton turned to face the snake, a smile on his face but his eyes betrayed him. 

"Wanna explain why you're attacking my kiddos now?" he said with a tone that screamed disappointed fatherly dominance. Janus swallowed the piece of corned beef in his mouth and cleared his throat. 

"I swear to all things Crofters that I didn't." he stated, showing his un-gloved right hand to prove his truth. 

"Don't lie to me, Janus. I saw the puncture." Patton said firmly, advancing. 

"Why would I attack him? I have no reason to, I have since forgiven him." the snake said, closing his container and placing it on the counter behind him. 

"Listen, if you're gonna start acting violent then I really have no choice. I just hope you know I didn't wanna have to do this." the father figure said, summoning something made of leather. As the man got closer Janus saw he was holding a muzzle. He gulped. 

"Please don't, I'll not bite anyone. I'll be good." he promised, offering a nervous smile. 

"How can I trust you after that stunt?" Patton asked, now effectively cornering him against the counter. "Now don't move or I might put this on wrong." the father figure said, moving the contraption closer. He slid Janus' beanie into the counter, put it over the side's mouth and strapped it in place. "There we go! Off you go now!" Patton said cheerfully, taking a step back. Janus sunk out to his room, he wanted to get there quicker this time, and felt behind his head for the strap. He wanted this thing off. He found the strap, only to discover it was designed so he couldn't just pull it off, and there were so many clasps and buckles he could feel, it would take far too long and Patton would notice for sure. With a loud sigh, he collapsed onto his chair and looked at himself in his mirror. The thing was on tight enough to push into his face oddly, and it had one word printed across the main piece. It said 'liar' in bold white lettering, of course it did. It was at that moment he realised he had left his beanie behind when he sunk out, maybe he could sink into the kitchen and grab it quickly. Replacing his confident facade, he stood up and sunk out of his room. He sunk into the corner of the kitchen he had intended and grabbed the hat. He glanced around the kitchen to ensure he wasn't seen, and sunk back down. Clutching his beanie tightly he sat back down in front of his mirror and stared until he zoned out. 

Janus snapped out of his trance when he heard the sharp knock at the door. He went to tell whoever it was to come in when he was stopped by the accursed thing stuck on his head. So he stood up and headed to the door. He turned the silver knob and opened the door to see Logan standing in the doorway, glasses pushed up his nose and notebook in hand. The logical side must have noticed the muzzle but said nothing about it if he did. 

"May I come in?" he asked. Janus nodded and stepped out of the way, heading to his bed. He probably needed his pillow within arms' reach. Logan took the wheelie chair at the desk and the two sides sat in relative silence until the teacher cleared his throat. 

"I see, uhm, I see Patton spoke to you about the incident with Roman." he said, sounding most awkward about it. Janus raised an eyebrow. 

"Why did you do it? I fail to see what brought on such an act." Logan asked. Janus grabbed the notebook out of his hands and took his favourite yellow pencil out of his pocket, and quickly wrote something down in his neat cursive handwriting before handing it back. 

"For the last time, I didn't bite him." he wrote. Logan scanned the note for a brief moment. 

"Oh, what happened then?" he asked, handing the notebook back. The scaly side thought for a brief moment before writing again. 

"Not sure" he put simply. Logan hm'ed in thought. 

"So we have a mystery on our hands." he said, shifting into his Sherlock cosplay. Janus let out a snort, to which the logical side raised his eyebrows. 

"What? Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant detective so it stands to reason being in his mindset would be practical." he said, perfectly serious. Janus nodded slowly, with an expression that read 'of course, that's nice dear.' 

"So," Logan said, "do we have any suspects?" he asked, rapping his fingers on the desk. The two thought for a good moment, before Janus came to a good realisation. He reached his hand out and tapped the teacher on the knee to get his attention, and once he had it, shifted into Remus. 

"The duke?" Logan asked to clarify. Janus nodded as he shifted back into his regular scaly form. Unfortunately, that thing wouldn't shift away. He supposed shifting into other forms didn't get rid of things summoned by other sides. That was disappointing. Logan jotted the suspect down and stood up. 

"I will do some detective-work, and I will keep you updated." he stated, heading out of the dark coloured door. As he closed it behind him, the snake grabbed his pillow and cuddled it tightly. He considered what had just occurred, one of the light sides was sticking up for him, well, sort of, even after Patton had leaked the knowledge of his fangs. It was an odd thing to consider, but what he found more odd was how the others reacted to them. After all, Virgil was never shunned for his extra limbs and eyes, nor was Remus treated differently for his tentacles. He was hardly the only side with venom either. After all, it had been well established that the anxious side also had fangs but, like the eyes, he could hide them. Janus however, could not retract his fangs. Even when he was in another form he found his incisors were always especially pointed. It was just another thing he was used to. Speaking of teeth, he really did want to chew something at the moment. However, the wave of stress returned as he recalled the reason he could not. He buried his face into the pillow and attempted to calm down. 

Janus had no idea how long he had been sitting with his face in his pillow when he heard a wild bang of a knock before the door opened. Remus never waited for responses. The pungent side bounced in and slammed the door behind him with all the grace and subtlety of a sledgehammer, and rushed toward the snake on the bed. 

"Woah, Pat was ruthless!" he said, likely remarking on the large amount of visible leather straps. Janus lifted his head out of the pillow to face the duke. Remus was grinning wildy. 

"Did not expect that to happen. I'ma take that thing off for ya." he said with his huge grin. The snake sighed to himself and shuffled to a better position. The pungent side worked surprisingly quick and soon, it was off. Janus rubbed his sore cheeks where the thing had dug into his skin and tested his jaw a few times. 

"Thank you." he said, wincing at how gravelly his voice had gotten from lack of use. 

"Not a prob, Jan! I am gonna need more of the good stuff though." the duke stated. Janus was almost afraid to ask what sort of good stuff Remus was referring to, but he soon got his answer when once again he was grabbed by the hair and his fangs were forced against the edge of a glass. This time however, he tried to pull away. As a response, the duke quickly pinned him against the bed, one hand holding him down and the other keeping his head in the right position. Once again he was held in this position until Remus decided he was finished and once he was, his venom glands were once again throbbing. The duke put the glass on the nightstand and stood up again, an oddly sinister expression on his face. 

"That thing really ain't that good if I can get it off." the pungent side mused. Janus sat himself up. 

"What do you mean?" he asked, attempting to pretend he hadn't just been milked for a second time. 

"I mean that." he stated, giving his hand a wave the way he did to summon something. And summon something he did, for Remus had replaced the muzzle with one that dug in much further, and one that was shaped just so he could never take the thing off unless the summoner removed it. And with the summoner being Remus, that was highly unlikely unless the duke had something in mind. The pungent side picked up the glass of venom. 

"Virge's gonna enjoy this lot!" he beamed, heading out of the room. He shut the door behind him, leaving the snake alone. Janus sat and thought, so he had been correct in his assumption and Remus was behind it, most likely seeing it as some twisted prank. He lay down and climbed under his quilt, and curled in on himself. 

How long had it been, a few days, a week, a month? It felt like a month, but it really could have been any amount of time. This room did blur those sorts of things, after all. His only real form of measuring how long it was, was by counting how many times Remus had come in to take more venom, but god forbid the Duke run on a consistent schedule so that was not the most reliable source. Nothing good came of those visits, as a matter of fact every time now when someone walked past his room which was more often that one would have expected, his glands would start leaking. As he had that accursed thing still slowly slicing into his cheeks, it had nowhere to go. Nowhere except, down his throat. Along with the throb of his overexerted glands he now knew exactly what effect his venom had, and it was one he would never wish upon anyone, without reason. It was constant agony, and at this point he daren't do anything save for lie in bed, his knees curled up to his chin as he assured himself he would be fine. He would be fine. He had to be fine, not being fine never got anyone anywhere. Quite the opposite, actually. His stomach rumbled, when was the last time he ate? No, better focus on something useful. What would his philosophers say about this sort of situation? Socrates would say it is better to suffer an injustice than commit one, but that did not help much in his current situation. And what did Socrates know anyway? Maybe a fair amount, but that was beside the point. Aristotle had little to say on the matter, which didn't help much either. For once, he did not have a witty comeback or a clever plan or any way he could spin this into a fair situation. What would he know about fairness, he was the literal embodiment of selfishness. Fair was Logan's thing. Speaking of, at that moment he heard the crisp, sharp knock of the logical side. He shifted to open the door but was hit with a wave of nausea as the pain intensified tenfold. He recoiled on himself quickly, inhaling sharply. he felt warm tears slip out of his eye. 

"I am coming in now," he heard Logan say as the door creaked open. "Oh dear, what happened to you?" the teacher said, his footsteps hurrying toward the snake. He flinched as he felt the logical side place a hand on his shoulder. He felt an odd, slightly sharp sensation on his head where the straps sat and slowly tried to shift to figure out what was happening. the sensation stopped. 

"Please keep still, I do not wish to harm you. Let me help you." he heard Logan say. As he stopped shifting the sensation began again, and soon he felt something absolutely wonderful. The thing was removed. It was dropped onto the floor and he tested his jaw a few times. It was incredibly sore but he could open it. As he started to thank the logical side he found his throat was so sore he could hardly manage a squeak. 

"Would you like physical reassurance?" Logan asked him. He found himself nodding, not that he didn't intend to accept it. He was pulled into a warm hug, with no sequins on the shirt or excessive glittery lace on the sleeve to be found. As he sat in the embrace, he managed to speak, although his voice was hoarse and hushed. 

"Please don't put it back on." he choked out. Logan seemed to tense. 

"Why would I do such a thing?" the logical side asked. "The answer is, I have no reason to. On a separate note, you feel as though you are entirely skin and bone. When was the last time you ate?" he slowly separated from the embrace, placing his hands on the snake's shoulders and looking him in the eye. 

"I absolutely remember that." Janus responded. Logan tutted and stood up, taking the snake's gloved hand in his.

"Unacceptable." he stated, helping Janus to his feet. The snake inhaled and clenched his jaw, a new wave of pain showing face as he stood, and he found himself almost collapsing, grabbing onto the logical side's arm to steady himself. Logan reached for the cane leaning against the nightstand and handed it to him. The snake took it, and used the object to prop himself up so that he wasn't leaning on the teacher as much. The two slowly made their way to the kitchen, and once they reached it Janus was more than grateful to sit down at the table. Logan set about preparing a bowl of microwavable mac'n'cheese, that being one of the few things he could cook. Cooking was mostly within Patton's skillset. As he placed the bowl of pasta into the microwave, a set of footsteps bounded into the kitchen. Patton reached into the fridge and grabbed a jar of crofter's out. 

"Just grabbing this for Roman, Lo!" the father figure said cheerfully before his eyes wandered and noticed the deceptive side sitting at the table and his expression quite notably dropped. Of course, he quickly plastered a plastic grin across his face so that no one would notice. "Morning, Janus. What are you doing here?" he asked. The snake turned his eyes to him. 

"Plotting an evil scheme, isn't it obvious?" he stated through his clenched jaw. 

"Don't lie to me." the moral side said, his cheerful tone laced with venom. 

"Why do you care?" the snake responded, interlacing his gloved fingers. 

"I care about my kiddos. Now tell me what you're up to or I'll have to give you punishment." Patton said, his tone subtly more malicious than before. 

"Very well, I was just about to eat Virgil's pet spider." Janus responded. "You know, since I'm clearly predatory." 

"I gave you a warning, Deceit." the moral side said, taking a step toward him. Then another. Then yet another, until he was standing right next to him. The way the father figure said his title could only be described as vicious. "Now stay still." his influence meaning Janus could not struggle if he tried. His heart pounded as Patton held his jaw open and took a firm hold of his left fang. Without a moments' hesitation, there was a snap as it was painfully removed. Soon enough, the moral side had taken the other out as well. He let out a pained exhale as Patton's influence dropped, and a loud clatter was heard as Logan dropped the bowl in his hands. 

"Patton." he said lowly. "What have you done?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the discord user I forget the name of for giving me the concept, and I hope you enjoyed, dear reader!


End file.
